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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

P Jk  ESI DiiJ IS  T ’S  OFFICE. 

ADDRESS 

by 

THE  HONORABLE  JOHN  BARRETT 


No.  4. 


THE  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  UNIVERSITY  MOVEMENT. 


Extracts  from  Address  of  Hon.  John  Barrett  at  the  Fifth  General 
Meeting  to  Promote  the  Interests  of  The  George  Washing¬ 
ton  University  with  Reference  to  the  New  Site,  held  at  the 
New  Willard  Hotel,  Monday  Evening,  March  25,  1907. 

When  President  Needham  honored  me  with  an  invitation  to  ad¬ 
dress  this  gathering,  I  was  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  making 
some  practical  suggestions.  What  I  have  to  say,  therefore,  will  be 
along  lines  of  accomplishing  actual  results  for  the  benefit  of 
George  Washington  University.  Naturally  my  observations  will 
be  based  upon  my  experiences.  Having  been  a  United  States 
Minister  in  many  different  countires,  I  have,  of  course,  listened 
to  a  great  variety  of  comment  on  American  civilization,  American 
institutions,  and  our  American  capital,  the  city  of  Washington. 

It  is  remarkable,  in  view  of  the  present  movement  to  promote 
the  interests  of  George  Washington  University,  that  everywhere 
in  foreign  lands  I  have  heard  surprise  expressed  that  there  was  no 
great  National  University  in  the  capital  of  the  United  States.  We 
have  little  idea  how  well  known  this  city  is  among  foreign  peoples. 
In  many  parts  of  the  world  where  the  name  of  New  York,  Boston, 
and  Chicago  are  never  spoken,  there  is  knowledge  of  the  capital 
city  named  after  the  first  great  man  of  this  country. 

The  name  of  George  Washington  is  one  with  which  to  conjure 
in  all  portions  of  the  world.  It  carries  a  magical  significance  not 
only  in  Japan  and  India,  but  in  Africa  and  South  America.  A  city, 
therefore,  and  an  institution,  that  are  named  after  the  Father  of 
his  Country,  are  expected  to  be  the  best  that  the  country  in  which 
they  are  located  can  produce. 

If  once  I  have  heard  a  foreign  King,  Prince,  or  potentate  express 
the  opinion  that  education  and  civilization  in  the  Unted  States 
should  reach  its  highest  point  of  consummation  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  I  have  heard  it  said  a  score  of  times.  Were  you  to 
travel  around  the  world  and  ask  the  leading  men  of  foreign  nations 
where  they  would  expect  to  find  the  greatest  University  of  North 
America,  they  would  say  that  it  would  surely  be  in  this  city. 

How  vividly  do  I  remember  that  one  of  the  leading  Princes  of 
India,  during  the  time  I  was  attending  the  great  Durbar  at  Delhi 
in  the  winter  of  1902-3,  asked  me  about  Harvard  University  and 
remarked  that  he  intended  to  send  one  of  his  sons  there  in  order  to 
get  the  advantages  of  a  university  that  was  located  in  the  capital 
of  the  United  States.  The  one  institution  of  learning  associated 
with  America  of  which  he  had  heard  was  Harvard,  and  the  one 
city  that  he  recognized  as  typical  of  our  culture  was  Washington. 
He  consequently  assumed  that  Harvard  was  here.  When  I  told 
him  that  it  was  located  near  Boston,  several  hundred  miles  from 
Washington,  he  expressed  surprise  and  doubt  as  to  whether  after 
all  he  would  send  his  son  to  Harvard.  This  is  not  told  as  any 
reflection  on  Boston,  but  as  showing  what  is  expected  of  the  National 
Capital. 


All  over  South  America  which  is  famed  for  its  devotion  to  edu¬ 
cation,  the  great  universities  are  located  in  the  national  capital, 
and  during  my  stay  as  United  States  Minister  in  this  part  of  the 
world,  I  was  asked  repeatedly  by  representative  statesmen,  educa¬ 
tors,  and  learned  men  why  it  was  that  Washington,  the  capital 
city  of  the  United  States,  with  all  its  unequaled  advantages,  did  not 
have  a  national  university  that  would  attract  students  from  all 
over  the  world.  It  was  impossible,  in  short,  for  these  men  to 
conceive  how  the  American  people  had  neglected  such  a  splendid 
opportunity.  More  than  once,  moreover,  I  was  reminded  by 
South  American  students  of  our  early  history  that  George  Wash¬ 
ington  in  his  will  had  provided  for  such  an  institution,  and  they 
thought  it  strange  that  our  people  had  never  carried  to  completion 
the  mighty  conception  of  our  Liberator. 

Again  in  China  I  heard  more  than  once  men,  who  stood  for  the 
highest  thought  in  Asia,  express  profound  astonishment  that  our 
national  capital  did  not  have  in  its  limits  a  great  national  institu¬ 
tion  of  learning  which  would  invite  graduate  students  from  all 
over  the  earth.  Both  in  what  these  Chinese  gentlemen  said  and  in 
the  remarks  of  the  statesmen  of  South  America  and  India,  I 
gathered  the  impression  that  hundreds  of  young  foreigners  would 
attend  such  a  university  if  it  were  located  in  the  capital  city  of  a 
country  which  to  them  typified  modern  and  successful  progress 
in  education  as  well  as.  in  material  accomplishment. 

I  venture  to  say,  therefore,  that  were  George  Washington  Uni¬ 
versity  today  an  institution  known  far  and  wide,  it  would  have 
among  its  many  thousands  of  students  no  small  proportion  from 
Asia,  South  America,  Europe,  and  Australia.  What  better  influence 
could  there  be  to  strengthen  our  prestige  and  standing  abroad  than 
to  have  in  attendance  at  George  Washington  University  representative 
young  men  from  all  the  leading  countries  of  the  world  and  especially 
from  those  which  are  looking  to  us  to  set  them  an  example?  Let 
us,  therefore,  though  the  hour  is  late  in  the  history  of  the  United 
States,  make  up  for  the  deficiency  of  the  past  and  provide  the 
opportunity  for  higher  education  that  is  expected  in  other  parts 
of  the  world. 

Having  spoken  of  the  foreign  view  of  this  question,  I  desire  now 
to  bring  the  issue  home,  as  it  were,  to  our  own  people.  George 
Washington  University  should  have  the  interest  and  support  of 
every  state  of  the  Union.  The  people  of  Oregon,  Texas,  Minne¬ 
sota,  Florida,  and  Vermont  should  be  inspired  alike  to  support 
here  an  institution  where  the  graduate  students  of  their  various 
colleges  could  come  for  completion  of  their  educational  work  and 
take  advantage  of  the  unrivalled  opportunities  offered  by  this 
capital. 

I  hesitate  to  say  it,  but  I  must  tell  the  truth  and  remark  that, 
on  account  of  the  great  aggregation  of  wealth  in  Washington  and 
of  the  attention  that  is  given  here  to  the  social  pleasures  of  life, 
there  is  a  growing  feeling,  especially  in  the  West,  that  the  city  of 
Washington  is  not  in  touch  with  all  the  country.  One  of  the 
dangers  that  confronts  us  today  is  the  increasing  conception  in 
other  parts  of  the  land  that  Senators  and  Congressmen  who  come 
here  are  getting  out  of  touch  with  their  constituents.  Many  sec¬ 
tions  of  our  beloved  land  feel  that  Washington  is  only  the  capital 
of  the  country  in  name,  and  that  the  red  blood  that  flows  through 
the  veins  of  the  American  people  loses  its  purity  in  a  city  where 
pleasure  and.  the  enjoyment  of  life  consume  so  much  of  the  time 
of  its  inhabitants. 


Nothing  would  do  more  to  offset  this  tendency  of  opinion  and 
this  class  of  criticism  than  the  establishment  and  maintenance 
here  of  a  great  national  university  in  which  every  State  would  have 
a  particular  interest  and  to  the  support  of  which  the  people  of  every 
State  would  contribute  their  quota.  Then  the  Pacific  Coast  and 
the  Central  West  would  feel  that  they  had  a  direct  concern  in  the 
advantages  offered  by  the  capital  city  as  much  as  those  who  live 
permanently  here.  The  George  Washington  University  would 
then  be  a  strong  tie  between  the  rising  generation  of  our  citizens 
in  all  parts  of  the  country  and  the  city  in  which  the  capital  of  the 
land  is  located. 

In  conclusion,  therefore,  I  have  to  suggest  that  we  should  effect 
a  national  organization  for  the  purpose  of  securing  subscriptions 
in  every  State  of  the  Union  for  the  endowment  of  the  George 
Washington  University.  Born  in  Vermont  and  going  later  to 
Oregon  to  take  up  my  residence,  I  stand  ready  to  do  all  in  my 
humble  and  limited  power  to  make  sure  that  these  two  commonwealths, 
respectively  near  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific,  will  do  their  share  in 
this  program.  In  Washington  there  are  scores  of  distinguished 
men  that  represent  their  States  and  sections  in  the  Executive  and 
Judicial  divisions  of  the  government  who  can  lead  in  this  move¬ 
ment.  The  States  of  the  Union  are  not  represented  here  merely 
by  Senators  and  Congressmen.  In  every  Department  there  are  quali¬ 
fied  men  from  each  State  who  can  interest  their  constituencies  and 
who  have  the  ear  thereof.  Let  these  men  organize  and  awaken 
the  people  in  different  parts  of  our  country  to  the  advantages  of  a 
great  national  university.  Mr.  President  Needham,  I  appeal  to 
you  to  consider  this  little  suggestion  and  put  it  into  practical  opera¬ 
tion  if  you  see  best.  If  you  do,  I  pledge  you  my  cooperation. 


